Roundtable: Emily Lloyd

Q: What have you been focusing on in terms of sustainability during your first 14 months?

EL: One of [the Department of Environmental Protection’s] most important missions is ensuring an adequate supply of drinking water, and over the last decade, we have invested more than $10 billion in our water supply infrastructure. We are also working to drive down the demand for water by investing in water-saving retrofits at city-owned properties and incentivizing upgrades and repairs in private residences and businesses.

Q: What will the future of sewer treatment plants look like? How are the city’s plants evolving?

EL: DEP operates 14 wastewater treatment plants throughout the city that clean—on an average day—more than 1 billion gallons of wastewater. These plants consume a tremendous amount of electricity, and we are at the forefront of an industrywide movement to capture and optimize the energy-producing capabilities of the facilities. At the Newtown Creek plant, we are partnering with National Grid to purify the biogas byproduct into enough pipeline-quality natural gas to heat nearly 5,200 homes. We also have ongoing optimization projects in West Harlem and on Staten Island.

Q: What did the city learn from Superstorm Sandy and how has the city adjusted?

EL: When Sandy made landfall in the city, we had already begun drawing up plans to fortify our wastewater facilities. Resiliency measures have already been built into projects at the Gowanus and Manhattan pump stations, and will continue to be added at other facilities. Upstate, Sandy’s strong winds meant waves piled up along the shore of one of our reservoirs and caused some erosion. We now regularly examine wind forecasts during extreme storms to ensure the protection of the water supply.